Anyone know the story on the Las Positas/State St. National Guard Armory
sign? Wasn't the site named after General Fremont? The original
permanent sign with a name vanished a few months ago, then a vinyl
banner without the name was put up in its place, and I noticed in the last
few days, that's missing or been stolen.

I believe this is the Army Reserve installation and it is indeed names after Gen. Fremont. The National Guard Armory remains on Canon Perdido Street. No idea what happened to the sign.

COMMENT 356879

2012-12-23 06:30 AM

The facility appears to be vacated and the grounds are not being maintained (at least the lawn is not being mowed like before). I believe that City parks was going to take back the space . . .

COMMENT 356903

2012-12-23 09:32 AM

I rode my bicycle by there a couple weeks ago and saw some people working on the grounds. I stopped and asked what was going on and was told that renovations are planned.

COMMENT 356921P

2012-12-23 10:44 AM

They need to find some local wealthy philanthropist to acquire it and expand the McKenzie Park baseball facilities. It would be a great naming rights for somebody. Like "Jones Fields" at McKenzie Park.

COMMENT 356936P

2012-12-23 11:31 AM

The idea that we have to rely on "wealthy philanthropists" to fund desireable community needs is sad. The local citizens can pay for these sort of improvements if we stopped catering to the super rich and then kissing their hand when they throw us tidbits back.

COMMENT 356940

2012-12-23 11:52 AM

@936P - Apparently the local citizens can't and don't pay for desirable community needs. If it weren't for the wealthy, most of our nonprofits would dry up and blow away. As for "tidbits" here's a few things that quickly come to mind - the Granada Performing Arts Center, Douglas Preserve, Elings Park, City College West campus, the Sea Center, the open park land of East Beach, the Bird Refuge, Cottage Hospital, Peabody Stadium and the Cabrillo Pavilion Arts Center.

COMMENT 356961P

2012-12-23 01:09 PM

Gee, these tidbits are certainly more important than mental health care and housing or drug intervention programs that allow for the care of patients for the length of time needed to get success or decent schools with serious advanced programs and options for those who use public institutions or health care for the poor or dental care for the people who have no access to these services or .... The things you list are the elegant desserts but not the meat of the thing. Nice to have but the price we pay is to excuse wealth from its responsibility to pay for the less glamorous and less "uplifting" stuff while they get fame and tax write offs for their proclaimed "virtue". It is a bad deal for the general public.

RESIDENT

2012-12-23 01:53 PM

961, where do you get the idea that the wealthy don't pay for their share of the governments' expenses?

It isn't a mystery, it's been in the news a lot, the top 5% of income earners pay 58.7% of the taxes paid and the top 1% pay 36.7% (2009). The bottom 50% pay 2.3%. Almost half of all taxpayers pay no income tax at all.

HAROLDM

2012-12-23 02:12 PM

And which percent uses a disproportionate amount of public infrastructure--airports, communications, security for their banks and houses (including army and national guard, like this armory), paving for their roads, public utility lines for the water for their lawns, fuel for their vehicles, education for the people who toil to make the goods and services that are the foundation for their wealth, etc. Bill Gates' father said it: without all of that, no microsoft. The full version of Obama's much maligned quote "... You didn't make that..." was right on the mark.

COMMENT 356982P

2012-12-23 02:49 PM

I love that I asked about why a couple of signs had vanished and ended being treated to a debate on age old rich versus poor dynamics.

COMMENT 357006

2012-12-23 05:53 PM

Haroldm - you must be joking.

YIN YANG

2012-12-23 10:45 PM

It doesn't need much of a sign, name or designation, as it's been closed for several years. The local battalion deployed Oct. 2008, and the unit was relocated to the San Fernando valley. It's surprisingly hard to find news about the closure (or my Google fu is worthless), but there's this:

http://www.independent.com/news/2009/jul/30/man-towns/July 30, 2009

"CITY’S EYE ON THE PRIZE: The sprawling Army Reserve center at State Street and Las Positas Road stands empty, waiting for the City of Santa Barbara and the State of California to work out a deal to make it city property.“They started at $20 million and the city at $8 million,” ...“We’d probably have to pass a bond issue” to acquire the site ..." [more at link]

COMMENT 357119

2012-12-24 10:36 AM

Personally, I like the ways that the threads evolve and migrate. I think it would be really boring if we all just commented on the sign or lack of it. The comments just remind me how complex many of the issues we face in our daily live are, so something as simple as a sign can trigger a discussion over public vs private funding and priorities of our local government. As long as comments are respectful and add info to the discussion, the more the merrier.

COMMENT 357184P

2012-12-24 04:33 PM

Let's remember the ranks of people dying and suffering from our misguided wars are mostly from our "poorer" people.